Rescuers pass water, food to buried miners in Indonesia

Rescuers stand at the entrance of a collapsed mine in Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Rescuers stand at the entrance of a collapsed mine in Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Photo: Associated Press

Photo: Associated Press

Image
1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Rescuers stand at the entrance of a collapsed mine in Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Rescuers stand at the entrance of a collapsed mine in Bolaang Mongondow, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Photo: Associated Press

Rescuers pass water, food to buried miners in Indonesia

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

BOLAANG MONGONDOW, Indonesia — Rescuers have passed water and food to some of the dozens of people trapped in a collapsed Indonesian gold mine, an official said Thursday, calling the grueling rescue effort in a remote inaccessible location a race against time.

The national disaster agency said 19 people had been rescued alive from the mine in North Sulawesi’s Bolaang Mongondow district as of Thursday evening. The death toll rose to seven and about three dozen miners remain trapped.

Local disaster official Abdul Muin Paputungan said a trapped miner’s leg was amputated to free him but the man died from blood loss while being carried out of the area.

“We were forced to amputate his leg to get him out because besides his lower leg being badly injured, the rock that squeezed it was impossible to shift or lift because we feared it could cause landslides and endanger rescuers and other victims,” Paputungan said.

“We hope those still trapped can survive with the food and drinking water that we delivered to them,” Paputungan said.

Wooden structures in the mine collapsed Tuesday evening due to shifting soil and the large number of mining holes. Informal mining operations are commonplace in Indonesia, providing a tenuous livelihood to thousands who labor in conditions with a high risk of serious injury or death.

Small artisanal and often unauthorized mining is rising in many parts of Asia and Africa. A study by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development found the number of people engaged in such mining had risen to more than 40 million, up from 30 million in 2014 and 6 million in 1993.